Tributes paid to 'father of the UK restaurant industry' Albert Roux

06-Jan-2021 - Last updated on 06-Jan-2021 at 12:57 GMT

The restaurant industry has been paying tribute to Albert Roux following his death at the age of 85, describing him as 'a true titan' of the UK food scene.

It was announced this morning (6 January) by the Roux family that the hugely influential chef restaurateur had died, having been unwell ‘for a while’.

In the hours since the news broke, social media has been flooded with memories and praise for the late chef.

Gordon Ramsay, who trained at Roux’s Michelin-starred London Mayfair restaurant Le Gavroche during the late 1980s and early 1990s and has operated out of the same office building as him for the last decade, described Roux as 'the man who installed Gastronomy in Britain'.

"So so sad the hear about the passing of this legend," he wrote on Instagram.

"We’ve shared the same office for the last decade and walking up those stairs today is going to be really difficult.

"Thank you Albert for everything you gave me; god bless you chef."

Marcus Wareing, who worked with Ramsay at Le Gavroche, described Roux as being 'probably the greatest chef our country has ever seen'.

"His inspiration, his love, his friendship, his passion for our industry will be greatly missed," he wrote.

"RIP chef, you’ll never be forgotten - our thoughts are with your family."

Albert is credited, along with his late brother Michel Roux, with starting London’s culinary revolution with the opening of Le Gavroche in 1967.

Other high-profile chefs to pass through the restaurant, which is now located on Mayfair’s Upper Brook Street, include Monica Galetti, Pierre Koffmann and Marco Pierre White.

In 1982, Le Gavroche became the first British restaurant to win three Michelin stars.

Paying tribute to Roux, the official Michelin Guide Twitter account praised the chef as 'a father of the UK restaurant industry'.

It said: "His legacy will live on through the many chefs who passed through his kitchen.

"All of us at the Michelin Guide send our heartfelt condolences to the Roux family."

With his brother Michel, Albert founded the Roux Scholarship in 1984; an annual competition to support up and coming chefs, which has counted winners including Andrew Fairlie, Sat Bains and Simon Hulstone.

Bains said Albert will be much missed, describing him as 'an absolute legend'.

"What the Roux’s have created in this country was the birth of modern gastronomy, and we are all in their debt for as long as we wear our chefs whites," he said.